A Hard Lesson To Learn
by Reiji Neko Mitsukai
Summary: Rated just in case. He had heard it many times before, Lex just never learned it until it was too late.


Disclaimer: If you know who they are, I don't own them. Mike McCleavy is mine though. Oh! And Buddy.

Author's Note located at end of story.

_A Hard Lesson To Learn_

"Clark; you're going to be late!"

"Coming Mom!" came the call from upstairs, then with an unnatural breeze and a blur of primary colors the teenage alien was standing before her.

Martha Kent studied her son's clothes and, deeming blue jeans and blue flannel appropriate, checked to make sure his hair was combed and his face was clean. Taking in his excited grin, she couldn't help but to smile herself. Clark was really looking forward to the trip to Metropolis with Lex and his friends; the fact that they were going for a school assignment didn't seem to faze him one bit. It was awfully nice of the billionaire to offer to carpool the four teens to the library, although it took some convincing to get Pete to agree to come with.

"Hurry up and get some breakfast, sweetie; Lex is expecting you in five minutes."

If possible, the grin got brighter, and he busied himself toasting a slice of bread with his eyes. He was absolutely thrilled to be taking a trip with his friends, and found it almost impossible to sit still. Martha could have sworn he was dancing in his seat.

"Calm down, Eager McBeaver, or you'll make the house shake."

He promptly quit moving in his seat, but the energy was still there and obviously building up. She hoped most of it would be used up in the run to the mansion, or Lex's car might not survive.

With a slight squeak of the hinges, the door opened and Jonathan stepped inside, all flannel and blue jeans. One glance told him everything- Clark sat practically inhaling a piece of toast with what appeared to be jelly spread haphazardly on it, his irrepressible excited-out-of-his-mind grin plastered from ear to ear. Martha stood watching him like a hawk from across the counter, making sure he didn't choke. Jonathan tried not to smile at the sight of it. He didn't entirely approve of the idea of Lex taking Clark and his friends to Metropolis, but if it made his son this happy, maybe it wasn't as bad of an idea as he first thought.

"Well, I see someone's ready for the trip today."

A grin.

Martha glanced at the clock. "If you cut across the fields, you should be able to make it in time." She reached over to the stair banister and picked up the backpack hanging there. Clark got up to take it from her, bending down so she could kiss his cheek. "Have fun, and remember what we talked about last night."

The grin refused to go away. "Don't worry Mom, I will." He didn't specify which one or both.

Slinging the backpack over one shoulder, heading towards the door and stopping when he saw his father looking at him.

"Now Clark, don't be afraid to remind Lex that he has a car full of teenage passengers, and that driving normally and at or below the speed limit is _required_," he said, giving what Clark affectionately called the Jonathan-Kent-father-eye.

The look didn't faze him one bit. "Don't worry; I'll remind him." He gave his father a quick hug. "Bye Dad!" With that, he headed out the door, his parents following him. Jonathan put an arm around his wife as their son neared the gate. He took a quick look over his shoulder and waved. "Love you guys!" he called back, then checked for anyone pulling up in the driveway before superspeeding through the barn and across the fields.

_A Short Time Later…_

He slowed as he neared the mansion, stopping at the gates long enough to slip through the bars. As he walked to the door, he considered X-raying the building to see where his friend was, but then decided against it. Chances were pretty good that he was in his office, where he usually was when he was home.

Sure enough, the servant that answered the door led him to his office. However, when the door opened, Clark was surprised to see that Lex wasn't alone; another man, perhaps nineteen years old or so, was sitting in one of the chairs while the billionaire leaned against a nearby wall. Both turned to face the door as it opened.

"Clark," said Lex with a slight smile. "I was wondering when you were going to come." He motioned towards the younger man sitting. "This is an old friend of mine from Metropolis- Mike McCleavy. Mike, this is my friend Clark Kent."

Clark smiled and nodded at him. "Hello. Nice to meet you."

He offered the youth a wan smile.

The younger teenager discreetly studied him. His hair was black and cut short, slightly spiked. His eyes were dark, and so were underneath them. He looked tired, like he hadn't slept well for a long time. He wore a dark blue T-shirt and faded blue jeans. His eyes looked haunted, like every time he closed his eyes he saw the same horrible scene. He felt his stomach involuntarily clinch. What had happened to him?

"Have a seat Clark," Lex offered.

"He can have mine," Mike interjected, getting up from his seat. "I know you two had plans, and I should study for that test. MetU waits for no one."

Lex shook his hand. "It was good to hear from you again. I'll stop by sometime when you're not in class."

A faint smile. "I'd like that."

Clark watched him leave, and Lex recognized the look of concern. He waited until the door closed. He smirked. "I know what you're thinking, incidentally."

He looked back at Lex, a little surprised. "I- I just noticed-"

"-The dark circles; I know." He moved to stand beside him, folding his arms. "A lot of people stare at him because of them. But not many people know what he's been through."

He paused, not entirely sure if he wanted to know. "… What happened to him?"

"His Senior year in high school, he fell head-over-heels in love with a girl in his class. Practically worshiped the ground she walked on. Rumor had it she liked him too. He never told her, but promised himself that someday he would." He looked away from Clark and at the floor. His eyes were distant, like he was thinking back. "One night, they both ended up going to the same party at an old warehouse. But it was so old, the supports couldn't withstand the volume and bass of the music."

"Were you there?"

A corner of his mouth twitched upwards in a faint, sad smile before he looked at Clark. "No, but I sometimes wish I had been; maybe I could have made a difference. I was back at the college, cramming for my Employee Psychology test the next day. The window was open, and I heard it collapse." He looked back down at the floor. "Anyway, he managed to get out in time. She didn't. It pretty much destroyed his life; he became suicidal and spent the next six months in therapy for severe depression, and even after that he doesn't sleep much." He stepped towards his desk, clearing away some of the papers as he continued the story. Clark watched him. "A year after the incident, I confronted him about his lack of sleep. He said that every time he closed his eyes, he saw the EMTs pulling her crushed and mangled body from the ruins."

Clark tried to imagine what that would be like, and drew a blank. So instead he tried to imagine he had taken Mike's place, and it was Lana that was being pulled from the building…

His stomach rolled, and he figured it was best to stop before he ended up ruining Lex's floor.

"He always regretted never telling her how he felt. He learned a hard lesson," Lex finished as he tapped some papers on his desk, straightening them out to stack them neatly.

"What lesson is that?"

He stopped what he was doing, watching Clark with solemn eyes. "That sometimes it's best to speak right away; because you never know when tomorrow will be too late."

Silence reigned in the office for several moments, and then Lex suddenly cheerfully smiled at him. For a split moment, Clark felt frightened.

"Well, now that I've successfully annihilated your excitement for the trip, shall we go?" The fish-out-of-water look he received as a response made his smile grow into a grin as he removed his coat from the back of his chair. "Your mother called me last night; said if I didn't find a way to calm you down you'd bounce right out of my car."

A blink. "So that's why you invited Mike here?"

He put his coat on. "Actually, that was a coincidence. I was originally planning to tell you a depressing story about my childhood, but I think this worked better, don't you?"

A blink.

He chuckled. Started for the door, clapping Clark on the shoulder as he passed him. "Come on Clark; the girls and Pete said they'd wait for us at the Talon."

He obediently followed, silent until he finally asked, "My mom told you to do _what_?…"

_Time Passes…_

A half an hour later, the four teens and the young man were settled into one of the few cars Lex owned that had a backseat. Lex was the driver with Clark in the front passenger seat, then Lana, Chloe, and Pete in the back. Backpacks were either on laps or on the floor. Pete was busy secretly admiring the interior.

Putting his usual sunglasses on, Lex turned in his seat to look at all his passengers at once. "First things first: Anything I should know about? Bathroom breaks, girls?"

The two females immediately turned towards each other, having a hushed conversation. All the boys could hear was a "just finished mine" from Chloe and a "two weeks yet" from Lana. The conversation then ended, Chloe turning to Lex with a smile. "Nope. We're fine!"

He continued. "Health issues? Parental threats or warnings?"

Clark was the first to speak up, raising his hand. "My dad says I'm supposed to remind you that you have a car full of teenagers, and that driving normally and at or below the speed limit is required. Then he gave me that look." He let his hand fall again.

"Don't let him buy anything from you," joined Pete, but everyone had the strong suspicion he made it up on the spot.

"Pete!"

"Get me home safe and sound," said Lana before Pete could say anything else.

Chloe sighed and rolled her eyes heavenward. "No matter how much I beg, plead, or bargain, don't agree to an interview."

Lex nodded. "Duly noted. Anything else?" He took the overall silence as a no. "Okay then; next up: Rules for this car. And yes, there will be rules for this car," he added, seeing the collective raised eyebrow he received. "One: No eating, drinking, or chewing gum."

He took Chloe's eye roll as a "well _duh_" gesture.

"Two: You are each allowed one caffeine-loaded drink every four hours." He cut off the impending complaints with a raised palm. "I've seen at least two of you strung up on caffeine- four of you like that is not something I'm prepared to handle by myself." His passengers remained quiet. He lowered his hand. "Anyone have anything to add?"

Relative quiet, except for Lana quickly catching her backpack when it decided that that moment was a good one to slip from her lap.

"Nothing? Alright; off we go."

The ride was relatively quiet until they were outside the borders of Smallville.

"We named him Buddy."

Clark grinned at the odd looks three of his friends were giving him. Pete smiled at him.

"So, the furball in the loft has a name now? Guess you just found yourself a full-time pet."

Chloe's face lit up. "Oh yeah! The calico that suddenly showed up in your barn last week! So, how's the little guy doing?"

"Mom adores him. He actually tolerates it when she holds him like he's a baby. I think my dad's getting jealous."

"I haven't met Buddy. Does he have a good temperament?" Lana asked.

Clark turned in his seat a little further to see Lana. "He loves people, especially when they sit on the couch- that's when he climbs up onto their shoulders. Lex learned that the hard way."

"Five hundred strands of cat fur later, my coat was finally back to normal," the billionaire added, earning a chuckle from the girls. Pete and Clark just grinned.

_Several Hours Later…_

Lex had a pretty good idea where everyone was. Pete was around the 031's, looking through a dictionary; Chloe stood at the 292's, looking up Greek myth; Lana hung around the 636's, thumbing through a book about horses (whether or not that was for the English assignment, he had yet to decide); and he found Clark in the 921's, flipping through a book about Winston Churchill.

"So, I take it that's the ever-intriguing subject you were graced with?" he asked with a touch of sarcasm.

Clark flashed a rueful smile and held up the book. "A thrill every second."

"Well, at least some of these dead guys are interesting," he said, his eyes scanning the shelves. He reached up and took a book from the second shelf from the top. "Like this guy for example." He flipped through it until he found a full-page picture and showed it to Clark. "Napoleon Bonaparte was an emperor of the French, but was born on one of the Italian islands. The day of his coronation, the Pope was supposed to crown him as the new emperor. Instead Napoleon took the crown _from_ the Pope and crowned _himself_."

Clark blinked, looking a bit impressed. "That must've taken a lot of guts, considering how strong the Catholic Church was back then."

Lex nodded and reached up to put the book away while keeping one eye on Clark. "It was the perfect example of how confident- Ow!"

They didn't see the four-inch thick book falling from the top shelf until the corner of it hit Lex's arm just below the shoulder. He instinctively brought his other hand to the injured spot as the book loudly hit the floor.

Clark immediately became concerned, stepping closer to Lex after setting his book on an empty spot on the shelf. "Are you okay?"

He gingerly rubbed his arm. "Yeah, I think so. Figures I'd get hit with the heaviest book in the library."

"We should probably look at it," said Clark.

He shook his head. "We'd have to unbutton my shirt to do that. I can look at it at home; it'll probably just bruise anyway." He looked down at the floor. "What did I get hit with?"

The younger man knelt down and picked it up. It had landed open, pages down. It was heavy in relative terms, which didn't mean much for Clark. He held it up so they could both see what the pages said. It had opened at the beginning of a chapter.

THE END OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT

"Wow. That's ironic."

Lex let out a quiet snort of laughter. "So much for namesake."

Looking up, Clark saw where it had originally been. After putting it back, he narrowed his eyes slightly as he focused on Lex's wounded arm. "You know, if we were at home, Mom would make us put ice on that." He hoped his friend would write off the stare as concern while he secretly looked through Lex's hand and shirt, seeing the hurt spot underneath. Sure enough, it was quickly starting to bruise.

"Don't worry about it, Clark," came the light reply. "It'll be gone before you know it."

"Yeah, you're probably right," he reluctantly agreed as he stopped the X-ray vision, looking back for his book and picking it up.

_Several Hours Later…_

It was a car full of sleepy teenagers on the way back.

Backpacks were filled with books checked out on Lex's library card (he had had a lot more checked out at once than what they had collected, he assured them), and stomachs were full of Subway- even Lex believed that something other than greasy burgers was good for growing teenagers (and, apparently, good for Chloe's secret love of tuna). Rain was falling and the constant sound made it difficult to stay awake. Lex had even turned the music way down to a muted background noise.

Clark was almost ready to doze off when he felt a poke at his shoulder. Looking back he saw Lana leaning forward in her seat behind him. She smiled sleepily and pointed at Chloe and Pete- both had already fallen asleep, Chloe had her head on Pete's shoulder and looked about ready to curl up against him. The farmboy grinned before settling back in his seat.

Lex glanced in the rear-view mirror and smiled a little. "I'll let them sleep until we get back to Smallville, as long as they don't start drooling."

Clark attempted a smile, which drifted with his voice as he slowly fell asleep. "Pete usually doesn't drool… Don't know about Chloe though…"

The driver glanced at the passenger and smirked. Yet another victim to the lure of full stomachs and soft sounds. "Well Lana, looks like it's just you and me."

"For now." A yawn. "I swear, Lex- Did you let us all buy foot-longs on purpose so we'd all stuff ourselves?"

He shrugged his right shoulder, then secretly winced as he was quickly reminded it was his sore side. "Wasn't my intention, but certainly is a nice side effect. You four wore yourselves out running around the library all day."

"Mm hmm… I don't think I've climbed that many stairs in my life. My legs are throbbing."

So was Lex's arm, but she didn't need to know that. Instead he leaned forward in his seat a little; brow furrowed just the slightest bit as he peered out the windshield. "Is it just my imagination, or did it suddenly begin to rain harder?"

"The weatherman said it would-" She was abruptly interrupted by the sudden blinding light that momentarily flashed outside. It also made the three sleepers begin to wake up, just in time for them to all jump at the ear-splitting crack and boom of the closely following thunder. Lana gasped a little in surprise. Chloe instinctively clung to Pete, quickly grabbing his arm. Clark bolted upright, eyes wide in surprise. Even Lex tensed, making his aching arm worse.

"… Storm," finished Lana unnecessarily.

Chloe eventually released Pete. "Well, that was a rude awakening."

The rain steadily got worse, and Lex drove steadily slower. After a half an hour- the teenage passengers were all now wide-awake and unable to sleep due to the now constant thunder and lightning- rain was coming down in sheets and Lex found it difficult to see five feet past the front bumper; the road was reduced to a black river and the car was now reaching speeds topping at twenty-five miles per hour. Lex knew that at this rate he and the kids wouldn't get back until midnight, and he'd have at least two different sets of parents and one aunt looking to gnaw his head off- whether or not Gabe Sullivan would have enough courage to chew his boss out for bringing his daughter home late was still under debate. Three heads were crammed between the two front seats, each trying to see the rain pouring in the light of the headlights. Chloe spied the speedometer.

"Wow. I guess the weather really CAN to anything- even make Lex slow down while he's driving."

That earned chuckled from everyone, even the driver. Pete grinned and gave her an appreciative nudge with his elbow.

"As Miss Sullivan astutely surmised, the storm is slowing us down. It'd probably be best if you call your parents and let them know you'll be late." He nodded towards the cell phone sitting in its charger on the dashboard. "You can use my phone. I think we're around halfway between Metropolis and Smallville."

Clark took the phone and handed it to Lana behind him. After pressing a few buttons, she put it to her ear. Meanwhile, Lex was seriously reconsidering how fast he should be going. The rain was come down in torrents outside, but the sooner he got them home the better. He slowly accelerated, bringing it up to thirty.

Lana was sure to keep the conversation short, keeping in mind that others had to use it too. Within a few minutes she hung up and handed the phone to Chloe.

"How much longer is this storm going to last?" Clark wondered out loud as he watched out the window.

Chloe began dialing her number. "We should try to find a weather report on the radio."

A good idea, and one that Lex agreed with completely. However, just as he began to take his hand off the steering wheel, he found himself in a staring contest with a deer right in front of the car.

The curse that came from him was explosive as he stomped on the brakes, his eyes suddenly widening in alarm and shock. The girls in the back screamed, and Pete joined in with the swearing. Clark instinctively braced himself against the dashboard.

It was hard to determine what had exactly happened, as these instances usually were. But the next thing Lex knew, the car was stopped on the side of the road. Every muscle in his body was taut and his grip on the steering wheel was white knuckled. It seemed it took too much effort and time to finally force his fingers to ease, and even longer to calm his breathing and to swallow his heart, which felt like it was ramming against his Adam's apple.

He first turned his head to look at Clark. The boy had both hands on the dashboard, feet up against the floor, eyes wide. He slowly turned his head to look at Lex, a held breath escaping his lungs in a whoosh. He had wedged himself firmly against the seat in anticipation of impact.

A few more moments and Lex managed to turn in his seat, observing the other passengers. They pretty much had the same reaction as Clark; arms braced them against the seats in front of them. Chloe had a hand on each seat, the cell phone in her vise right hand. Lana's hair had fallen into her face, blocking most of her wide eyes from his vision. Pete- like Clark- had been holding his breath.

"Everyone alright? Anyone hurt?"

Slowly everyone eased back into their seats, slowly relaxing and apparently finding no injuries. Chloe was the first to speak after pressing a few buttons on the phone.

"Well, I have some good news."

"You mean besides the fact that we're all still in one piece?" guessed Pete.

"One: the phone still seems to work," she continued.

"And two?" asked Clark.

"Two: I still need to use the bathroom."

A few tense chuckles drifted around, easing the mood slightly.

Lana suddenly poked her head between the seats. "Did we hit it?"

Lex looked up to the front of the car out the windshield. Both headlights were still working, and he didn't see any deer-sized dents in the hood. "No damage to the front of the car; I think it got away."

Chloe looked behind them. "I think it went in there," she said, pointing out to where she saw a grove of trees, visible by lightning.

Lex's composure was slowly returning. "Alright. Call your parents, tell them we'll be late; just don't say anything about the deer until I'm nice and safe in my fortified castle."

A collective nod, and Chloe dialed her number as the car began to move again.

_A Few Hours Later…_

The rest of the trip home had been uneventful. All parents were notified of their child's late return, and so far none knew of the close call.

Upon returning to Smallville, Pete was the first dropped off at home. Clark had offered to make the runs with the only umbrella. His parents had always taught him to be courteous to others; he would be the last to get dropped off, and Lex _had_ been the one to drive them to Metropolis and back.

Lana was dropped off at the Talon, Clark opening the door for her and walking with her. Noticing it was taking him at least twice as long to say goodbye to Lana than it did Pete, Lex and Chloe peered out through the furiously working windshield wipers.

"He doesn't seem to hide it very well, huh?"

Lex just smirked, and it was still there when Clark finally returned. He settled into the seat, then noticed the look. His brow furrowed a little. "What?"

His bald friend just shook is head as he pulled away from the Talon. Chloe coughed- an obviously fake one.

Clark turned in his seat to look at her. "What?"

She just smiled at him. "I didn't say anything…"

Her house came shortly afterwards, and Lex thought he saw Gabe come to the door and talk to Clark for a little while; then the door shut and Clark returned.

It was a comfortable silence that started the drive to the Kent farm; an element of their friendship Lex rather enjoyed. They could sit in silence and he wouldn't have to worry about Clark plotting against him, or scheming ways to take over Luthorcorp. It was nice.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Clark look at him.

"So, how did today go, in your opinion?"

He mulled over the thought for a few moments. "Rather well," he finally said. "It certainly could have been worse. I trust you guys found all the information you needed?"

"And then some," admitted Clark.

"Then I'd say today was a success, aside from the deer and the book incident. I even learned something."

"What?"

"How long it takes four teenagers to eat how many foot-long subs before officially stuffing themselves."

Clark smiled and chuckled. "Yeah, we kinda overdid it a little, didn't we?"

"Just a little," he remarked dryly.

A half a minute of silence passed before the younger man spoke again. "Thanks Lex- you know, for today. I owe you one."

"Clark, this is nothing compared to everything you've done for me. I mean that."

"Yeah. Okay."

_Time Passes…_

His arm still hurt.

Changing into his pajamas, he paused to look at the bruise that had formed on his right arm in the mirror. Ouch. That would be there for at least a week or two. With a sigh, he slipped the black satin shirt over his head.

The Talon was usually closed on Sunday. Clark would be busy with his English paper. Perhaps he could stop by and see how he was doing; maybe give him some advice while he was there.

He ran a hand over his head and found himself grinning. He had just spent the day with some high school Freshmen, and oddly enough caught himself hoping he could do it again. He actually had fun, even though the day was spent mostly in a library. He was able to talk to them; even Pete opened up a little halfway through the day. If that wasn't an improvement, he didn't know what was.

He was still grinning when he slipped into the huge bed, and even just before he fell asleep.

He just might be able to make a good name for himself in Smallville yet.

_The Next Morning…_

His arm throbbed when he woke up.

He sat up, slowly blinking away the sleep in his eyes. Looked over at the digital clock at his bedside. Noticed it was much later than he usually woke up. Realized he was running on minimal thought processes.

He rubbed his face a bit to wake himself up. Then, as an afterthought, put a hand on his hurting left arm. He almost hissed with the sudden vicious sting, and quickly decided touching it was not a good idea. Odd it would hurt so much now; but he was still wasn't running at full capacity, so it went un-pondered.

He got ready for the day as he usually did, ignoring a small ache in his right arm. His primary thought was of the caffeine-loaded brown drink most likely waiting in his office.

Sure enough, there it was, waiting on his desk: a meal- late breakfast? Early lunch? He didn't really care which- and a big mug of his morning coffee. Still not entirely with the rest of the world, he eagerly sat down and picked up the cup, taking a deep whiff of the scent, waking up just a little bit more. With a content sigh he settled back into his chair, taking a swallow of the liquid and propping his feet up onto the desk. Finding the newspaper nearby, he picked it up and glanced at the front page. Right away- as the caffeine was quickly working its way into his system- he noticed the bolded headline:

FATAL CRASH KILLS FOUR- DRIVER SURVIVES 

He remembered the storm the night before had been pretty bad. '_Surely one of the causes of the accident_', he thought as he took in another mouthful of coffee. Before he swallowed, he noticed four pictures at the bottom of the article- most likely of the four victims. Curious, he glanced at them.

Looked again.

Read the names under each picture.

Coffee spewed across his desk, staining the top of the paper. Coughing, he nearly dropped the mug on his desk as he let his feet fall to the floor, leaning forward in his chair to stare intently at the four smiling pictures staring back at him.

**KENT**

**LANG**

**ROSS**

**SULLIVAN**

Clark. Lana. Pete. Chloe.

That meant the surviving driver was…

His mind- suddenly now very much awake- struggled in vain to comprehend what had happened. He rubbed his eyes in an attempt to dispel an illusion. When his vision cleared, the same four pictures and headline still stared at him.

It didn't make sense- they weren't in any accident last night! He strictly remembered dropping each of his passengers off safe and sound at their homes/workplace. The only thing _remotely_ close they had to an accident was the deer…

He snipped the thought short. Nothing had happened. They didn't hit the deer- there was no damage to the car, and he drove it home just fine. Besides, if they really _had_ gotten into an accident, how could his four passengers be killed while he came out of it unscathed?

His thoughts now turning to his well-being, he finally noticed the sharp throb in his left shoulder. The book _was_ four inches thick- surely it was heavy as well, and the corner of it hit his arm as he was putting the Napoleon book away-

Wait. He put the book away with his _right_ hand…

Then what was wrong with his left arm?

Hurriedly, he unbuttoned his shirt enough for him to pull down his collar to see his bare shoulder. Much to his surprise, he saw- not a perfectly unmarred shoulder and upper arm- but rather a white bandage wrapped around the limb approximately two inches from the top of his shoulder. A thick, blotchy red line had formed and as he tried to turn his arm to get a better look, the painful sting came again and as he watched- slightly horrified- the red grew, expanding the thick line.

A hard knot formed in his stomach.

'_Oh God…_'

_What had he done?_

_To Be Continued…?_

Author's Note: I'm seriously debating whether or not I should continue this. I have ideas for the next chapter and how I want to end it, but I'm not sure if I should. As you may know, I'm notorious for not finishing/taking uber long to update, as I run out of oomph to finish it and find other ideas to write about. I need you- the readers- to help me decide. Here's a little snippet of what I hope to have happen next chapter, should I write it:

_Jonathan Kent suddenly banged his fist down on the table, making Martha and Lex both jump with the noise. His eyes burned like a raging wildfire behind the moisture that was beginning to build up again. His voice raised to a near yell as he glared daggers at the bald young man- a glare that hurt just as much as if he really had come at him with a knife. _

"_It was YOUR driving that killed them, Lex! And you just HAPPENED to crash where the meteor rocks were!"_

_Martha started. "Jonathan, no!" she cried, her watery eyes wide and hurt._

"_He needs to hear this, Martha," he tensely replied, easing his voice a little. Threw another stab to Lex's heart with his eyes. His voice lowered, and Lex felt his chest tighten in dread with his next words. _

"_He needs to know what he did." _

So yes. That's just a little bit of what I have planned. Unfortunately, I have another Smallville story idea, and it will be a lot bigger than this one. I'd like to get as much done as possible on that one before my inspiration tank runs empty. What do you guys think? Should I leave this as-is or try to finish it and eventually get started on the next one?


End file.
